Wind Concerns Ontario is a province-wide advocacy organization whose mission is to provide information on the potential impact of industrial-scale wind power generation on the economy, human health, and the natural environment.

Ontario Environment Ministry set to repeat mistakes if new power projects approved

WIND CONCERNS ONTARIO

NEWS RELEASE

ONTARIO ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY TO REPEAT WIND POWER MISTAKES

August 22, 2017

Wellington, Ont. —

Applications for approval of new, huge wind power projects now being filed with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate should be denied, says Wind Concerns Ontario.

“There have been so many problems and mistakes with the government’s wind power program that not a single new project should be approved,” says Wind Concerns’ president Jane Wilson.

Recently, problems with well water have been revealed in the Chatham-Kent area, where vibrations from turbine construction and operation have disturbed the shale bedrock resulting in toxic heavy metals such as arsenic contaminating water, making it undrinkable.

On August 21st, Chatham-Kent council voted to demand a halt to construction of a new wind power project.

The Otter Creek project by French power developer Boralex is proposed to be built on the same geologic formation and there are questions as to whether it could also create water problems.

Turbine noise is an ongoing concern: Wind Concerns received MOECC documents earlier this year showing that the ministry has had thousands of complaints about excessive noise and vibration from operating wind turbines, but has not resolved any of the problems. Complaints about noise emissions from the turbines continue, often beginning as soon as the power projects begin operation. Citizens affected report sleep disturbance for weeks at a time, and other health problems such as headaches, dizziness, and cardiovascular symptoms.

“The Ministry doesn’t seem to be learning anything from reports of problems created by wind power projects,” says Wilson. “Their own field officers have documented issues with existing noise regulations and observed health effects, and now we have people with formerly pure well water turning black, but the MOECC continues to receive and approve these huge power projects based on the same regulations that have proven to be flawed.

“If the MOECC were a private business, they would acknowledge these mistakes and problems, and work to resolve them — that’s not what this government is doing.”

Wind Concerns filed a document recommending the Otter Creek project, now in review, not be approved. The turbines proposed have never been used and there are no actual noise output measurements for them, WCO says of the project which will operate immediately north of Wallaceburg.

“The modelling documents filed with their approval request are just estimates based on estimates,” says Wilson. “That’s not good enough to assure citizens of Wallaceburg their health will be protected.”

WCO says that projects not built yet should also be halted, such as the North Kent II, where water problems persist, and Amherst Island, to name two, where a tiny island community will be exposed to noise emissions from 26 50-storey high wind turbines and endangered wildlife will be affected.

The damage to the environment and to human health is inexcusable, WCO says, especially when the power projects are not needed. According to a report by the Council for Clean & Reliable Energy, 70 percent of Ontario’s wind power is wasted as it is produced out of phase with demand, and Ontario has a surplus of electrical power.

Comments

The Ministry knows exactly what they’re doing. They are a bunch of criminals. Come on Kathleen Wynne, you are allowing the government to move forward with developments that literally KILL people of rural Ontario. This is PATHETIC. Do you have your hand in the money pot as well? You bag of dirt, where are your ethics and values?
For a country so beautiful, I am really beginning to HATE Ontario and the stupid ignorant people who are brain washed with green propaganda and keeping our government in power.
I visited Amherst Island last summer. It was absolutely beautiful, a step back in time. The industrialization will completely destroy this little piece of heaven. I witnessed a long time resident of Amherst Island wailing in despair as the mature row of pines bordering her property were brought to the ground, cut down, destroyed.
I wish someone would blow these frigging killing machines and their developers off the face of the earth.
Somebody please put us out of our mysery and drop a bomb on Ontario.
Throw these criminals in jail.
Take up your arms in defense Ontario. Knowing what we know now and the destruction caused by wind turbines to human health and the environment, how dare they break your constitutional right. How dare they destroy your homes. How dare they run you off your land.
This is a takeover by our government. It appears they are knowingly killing off 25% of the population of rural Ontario.
We are at war folks, protect yourselves. Do not let them in your land. Block the roads. Doing nothing will leave you with just that…nothing.
That commercial on tv with the little Muslim girl “give us a place to stand…a place to grow”… What a crock of horse shite. It appears our government is provoking and promoting racism. Hear that Justin Trudeau….provoking and promoting while working on Liberal votes. Sorry to say bud, you will go down, in history..as the biggest clown who destroyed a beautiful country.
As we acknowledge the anniversary of the invasion on the beach of Normandy…what the hell people… the lives of our forefathers lost..in vain? Ungrateful people of Ontario. SHAME ON ONTARIO

Hell ya Tracy!!! Declare a state of emergency in your municipality!!!! I personally went to the protest site yesterday noth east of chatham ….. what i saw was not only discusting and irreparable….. a man drew water from his tap for me to bring back to DD to present to our council…. i was literally in shock at what i saw!!! Jet black water!!!! Disgusting!!!! CKs solution was to just hook up to the municipal water system…
Saugeen shores if someone wont shut that Unifor wind turdbine down after years of complaints …. i would toppel the piece of sh!t myself…. i will defend you in court…. when people are treated like this by our governments you cant really be surprised when they revolt!! Go Tracy!!!!!!

Thank you Tracy! Now how do we motivate more woosey Canadians. Yes they are liars, yes they are criminals but they will never have to pay anything back and have lined their pockets with my retirement money. Anyone who calls them self a Liberal is sick and a social misfit.
The Liberal patch now is the same as the Hells Angels ,Satan’s Choice or the Mafia. The Liberals are to be reckoned with just like other organized crime gangs.
Stan Thayer